Seeing the future
by ginnys01
Summary: Luna learns to accept the future


**AN: one shot written for the QLFC week 8**

**Position prompt: BEATER 1: Nine of Wands — **Upright: Resilience, Grit, Last Stand,_** Reversed: Exhaustion, Fatigue, Questioning Motivations**_

**Additional prompts used:**

**Prompt 5: [restriction] No mention of Hogwarts**

**Prompt 10: [quote] "Once a future is foretold, that future becomes a living thing, and it will fight very hard to bring itself about" — Legendary, Stephanie Garber**

**Prompt 11: [restriction] No Gryffindors or Slytherins**

**Thanks to my fellow Puddlemere united team members falling winter roses, The Crownless Queen for beta-ing.**

* * *

Luna's eyes flew open, and she sprang from her bed with a scream.

"_Aah!"_

"Luna! Are you — sweetie, are you okay?" Pandora Lovegood rushed up the stairs and into her daughter's room, utterly terrified.

It took Luna a few moments before she realized where she was, and when she finally did, she flew into her mum's arms.

"You died! You _left _me. Y-you were working and it exploded. You _died!"_

* * *

Luna was sitting on the bench in the workroom, watching her mum work. It had always been one of her favourite pastimes, but today, it brought her comfort: as long as she was watching her mum work, Luna knew that she was alive. But still she had a foreboding feeling that something was wrong.

No matter what she did, she just couldn't get the dream out of her head. Seeing her mum's spell backfire had been terrifying. She told herself it was just a dream, but something was telling her it wasn't… just like when she'd dreamed about Ginny falling into the lake.

Luna was scared that the dream _wasn't _just a dream.

Luna was hoping that by staying alert, she would be able to spot when it all went wrong and that she'd be able to warn her mum.

But time passed too fast. When Pandora's wand glowed purple, Luna immediately knew what was going to happen. Her mum came to the same realization less than a second later, but by then it was too late. Pandora had just enough time to wandlessly cast a shield over Luna before the spell caused a massive explosion.

It wasn't until two hours later that Xenophilius found them. Luna, who'd been protected by the shield, was simply knocked out on the floor. Pandora, outside of her own shield, hadn't been so fortunate.

Luna didn't wake up until the next morning. She was perfectly fine until the moment that she realised that her mum had died — that her dream had come true.

And she hadn't managed to stop it. What was the point of getting dreams like these if you couldn't keep them from happening?

* * *

Life at the Lovegood house continued, but it changed. The breakfast that had always been ready on the dot turned into a grab-what-you-want type of thing. Only for the evening meal did father and daughter sit at the table together. Dinner was inconstant; it came on each day whenever Xenophilius happened to remember. Luna's bedtime became later and later with each passing day. It wasn't because Xenophilius didn't care, but simply because he wasn't good at time keeping. When Xenophilius worked on the Quibbler, everything else was forgotten.

Things got worse as the weeks progressed. Most days Luna slept well past breakfast, and so breakfast became brunch. Rarely would she actually eat the amount expected for her age. She would then spend the rest of her day either in her room or outside, never actually doing anything of substance. Whenever Xenophilius had a break in his work he would cook, and Luna would eat a small amount, but never a lot. Most days, she used the excuse of recently having eating.

Her father believed her.

Things went from bad to worse. By the time two months had passed since Pandora died, Luna had become paler and thinner than ever, and Xenophilius had lost all track of time.

Xenophilius spent all day working on the Quibbler, sleeping when he felt tired, and cooking if he had a break and he thought it was needed. He knew that without Pandora he would have to work doubletime to get enough money to look after Luna.

He cancelled his trips to look for creatures to stay home for Luna, but he never managed to get a routine set up. He and Pandora had worked so well together. They both had passions that the other understood, and they complemented each other perfectly in that Xenophilius was just as unorganized as Pandora was the opposite.

Xenophilius needed Pandora to make him take a break, to tell him to stop for food. Pandora made the routine, and made sure everyone stuck to it, but most importantly, she made sure that Luna had everything she needed. Xenophilius just couldn't get used to it, and he didn't know what to do. This, coupled with the grief, completely destroyed him.

Luna spent all day doing nothing. The fact was, Luna didn't have the energy to do anything. She didn't see the point. Ever since her mother died, she went over all the dreams she had. Analysing them, trying to see which ones were just dreams and which ones had actually happened. She didn't like the conclusion: each time it was a dream that she didn't like and had hoped it wouldn't happen, no matter how much she tried, it still happened. What was the point of her dreams if she couldn't change them?

What was the point of living, if the future was already decided for you?

* * *

The Lovegoods were caught in an endless cycle, one that seemed to have no escape for either of them.

But a knock on the door changed it all.

"Hello my dear. How are you?" the lady at the door asked.

Luna just nodded, not sure what to say. Who was this woman? "Daddy is in his study; do you want me to get him for you?" she decided to ask.

The still unnamed woman shook her head. "No, my dear. I'm here to see _you_."

Luna was surprised. "Me? Why?"

"Because of the dreams you have. I myself had a dream that told me that I was needed here. Did you ever discuss those dreams with your Mum?"

Luna shook her head. Why would she have discussed them with her mum? They were just dreams. She would sometimes talk to her mum about a dream, but never about the fact that some of them came true.

"If you had, she would have been able to tell you that you are a seer."

"A seer? _Me_?"

"My dear, your dreams aren't just dreams; they're visions of the future yet to happen."

"So… those dreams I had…"

"They foretold the future, yes."

"But why can't I stop them from happening?"

"Because once a future is foretold, that future becomes a living thing, and it will fight very hard to bring itself about."

"But what is the point? Why show us visions if we can't change them?"

"Because that is how seeing works. It works in stages. A young seer will begin to see things in their dreams — this teaches them that some things will come true. Once the seer begins to know how to differentiate dreams and visions, the next step happens."

"Next step?"

"The seer will begin to receive visions throughout both night and day, appearing similar to daydreams. Shortly afterwards, they will begin to have small prophecies. One-liners, one might say. And then, finally, the seer will be able to receive and understand true, full prophecies that may live on in the Department of Mysteries."

"The Hall of Prophecies…"

"Yes. All given by Seers like myself… like you."

"So one day I will tell prophecies?"

"It is… hard to say whether or not you will. Some seers never manage to tell a full prophecy, and most will only receive one, or, if they are lucky, perhaps two."

Luna hesitated. She couldn't see the point of being a Seer. That vision had only scared her, and in the end, her mother had died anyway. "But… what if one doesn't want to receive prophecies, or visions?"

"If one does not wish to receive prophecies, there is a method for stopping or controlling this. It's called reversed occlumency."

"Occlumency? How would that help?"

"Occlumency is when a person closes their mind to stop other people from reading it. Normally Occlumency works with the person clearing their minds, creating order inside it. In this case that openness gives way for the visions. Your mind is organised, but also open for new ideas.

"With _reversed _occlumency one creates chaos in their mind. It will be organised chaos, but chaos nonetheless. This chaos prevents visions from getting through.

"With enough practise, you will be able to decide if you want a vision and when. Eventually you will be able to direct the visions in a direction of your choosing."

"So I will be able to see what I want?"

"In time, yes."

"How long does this take?"

"In truth… it takes years. Decades, even. The gift of prophecy is not well understood, and it is very difficult to understand."

"So… you came here because of a vision? But how did you see me, when you can choose what to see?"

"One still receives visions of others. And I saw you. I knew it was my duty to help. That was the purpose of the vision."

"But… visions are of the future, aren't they?"

"Yes, they are."

"Then how did you see me?"

"I saw you in the future."

"Really? W-what was I doing?"

The seer smiled slightly. "That, young seer, is a story for another time."

She stood, and Luna's eyes widened. "Wait! Where are you going?"

"I have fulfilled the purpose of the vision. I should not meddle too much in your situation. So, dear Luna, I wish all the best for you. Perhaps we may meet again someday… perhaps not."

Luna had one last question.

"Who are you?"  
The woman smiled as she opened the front door. "Now, but wouldn't that just ruin the mystery?"


End file.
